Vadodara accident: Accused says ‘potholes’ led to loss of control, refutes drunk driving allegations

Rakshit Chaurasiya, a 23-year-old man accused of crashing a car into several vehicles in Gujarat’s Vadodara -- resulting in the death of a woman and injuring four others – has claimed that he was not under the influence of alcohol during the incident late Thursday night.

The accident occurred around 12.30 am near Muktanand cross roads in the Karelibaug area following which the driver, Rakshit Chaurasiya, was arrested, said deputy commissioner of police Panna Momaya.

It could be a case of drunk driving as eyewitnesses, who caught Chaurasiya at the scene, told the police that he appeared intoxicated and was screaming “another round, another round” after coming out of the car, the official said.

During an interaction later, the accused said that he was driving the car at a speed of 50 kmph and was not in inebriated state. He further said that the car lost control due to potholes on the road.

“The car lost control due to the potholes on the road. The car was running at a speed of around 50 kmph. There was a scooty and a car. I was not drunk. I want to meet the family members of the deceased because it was my fault. Whatever they wish should happen,” Chaurasiya was quoted as saying by CNN-News18.

The deceased woman has been identified as Hemali Patel, who was riding her scooter at the time of the accident.

Chaurasiya, who originally hails from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, is a law student and lives in a PG accommodation in Vadodara, Momaya told reporters.

“The car belonged to his friend Mit Chauhan, who was sitting in the co-driver’s seat when Chaurasiya rammed the car into some two-wheelers at full speed while going towards Muktanand circle,” she was quoted as saying by PTI.

Efforts are being made to track down Chauhan, the official said.

A video recorded by an eyewitness showed Chauhan coming out of the car, with a wrecked front portion, blaming Chaurasiya for the crash.

Chaurasiya, who appears incoherent, keeps shouting, “Another round? Another round?”. The video shows Chaurasiya getting thrashed by bystanders, who subsequently handed him over to the police.

In CCTV footage accessed by media, the speeding car can be seen hitting two scooters, knocking down the riders and dragging them along before coming to a halt.

(With inputs from PTI)